Victorious Beauty
by Kohaku No Ama No Gawa
Summary: With only four of the seven left, a young woman who shows potential joins the group. After the mysterious death of Suikotsu, Bankotsu suspects the girl killed him. Did she really? Abandoned
1. Chapter 1

_**Victorious Beauty**_

Author's Note: Welcome to 'Victorious Beauty' (I thank my beta for the title idea!) So this will be a Bankotsu/OC romance. And yes, I have changed my writing style to those of you who have read my previous stories (What can I say? It was a bit childish….). Also, I have changed my pen name for those of you who don't know, it use to be 'inuyasha is awesome'. Well, I think that's all I have to say for now….

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and the quote, 'Never underestimate your opponent. If you're gonna kill someone, make sure you do it right the first time. Because if you're only going maim them with the first attack, they have a nasty way of coming back to make you regret it.' That is from Inuyasha.

Shout out/Acknowledgment: Thank you to my beta, KaidaThorn, who went over this even though she had stuff to do, I am grateful. I absolutely adored the revised version! And thank you to my friend, madin456 for making me finish this faster :D

Full Summary: With only four of the seven left, a young woman who shows potential joins the group. After the mysterious death of Suikotsu, Bankotsu suspects the girl killed him. As time passes, the betrayal of Renkotsu is revealed and Bankotsu is deeply hurt. Will the woman be able to heal his heart or make it worse?

**Chapter 1**

It was a bright, sunny day; the grass way swaying and the leaves were of a forest green color. Everything was peaceful.

"I wonder how far it is until I get there…?" A girl in a kimono that blended into the colors of the forest asked herself as she walked down a dirt road. Her long black hair, blown by the wind, went down to the middle or her thighs and shaped her round face. Her neck was hidden by a slightly large collar that had a white lace around it to match the sleeves and hem of the kimono. On the bottom left corner of the kimono, there was a deep green flower design that flowed up the length of the kimono. A katana in a blue sheath with a green hilt hung from a deep brown obi that was tied around her waist.

Her bluish green eyes, her right one hidden beneath long bangs, sparkled with interest as what she was looking for came into view.

She smiled "Perfect!"

"Hiya!"

A man yelled out loud as he effectively defeated his enemy with a giant halberd; the weapon has a large double edged blade and a pommel that is shaped like a large crescent moon. The man wears a white pair of hakamas with a white haori that has a blue patch on his left shoulder, which is partially covered by a piece of iron armour. His shirt cuts off at mid-forearm, the remainder of his arm protected by gray guards that leave his fingers exposed. He wears iron armour, which has a blue fern-like pattern, over his clothes with a shoulder guard attached to the rest of it by a bit of red cloth. Around his waist, connecting the armour, is a red obi that hangs just above his hips. His black hair is held up in a braid, and his bangs split in the middle to reveal a purple four-pointed star on his forehead.

"Nice job, Bankotsu!" A man with black shoulder length hair and six green pointed stripes going into the middle of his face called out. His blue striped kimono was covered with armour that was tied with a red string. He had claws on his hands.

"Such a pity though, he was so cute," a feminine man said. He sighed. "Well, there's always next time." His hair was tied up into a bun and he had two pointed blue stripes, one under each eye, steak down his face to the bottom of his lips. He wore a light purple kimono covered in a green leaf design which reached down to his ankles; it's held together by a purple obi. A weapon was strapped to his back.

"Don't worry, Jakotsu, you'll have the next victim we come across," promised the man with black hair.

"He better be cute or I'm taking your next one, Suikotsu!" the feminine man, Jakotsu, said to the black-haired man.

"Too bad, Jakotsu, you're not taking my next victim!" Suikotsu said.

"If you want, you can have my next one, Jakotsu," The fourth man said. He had two purple stripes going up his face, passing his eyes while he had another tattoo pointing downwards on his forehead. He wore a light blue kimono with cloud-like designs underneath red armour tied together with a purple obi. He also has white poufy hamaka pants and brown shoes.

"Oh, Renkotsu, you are so sweet!" Jakotsu squealed.

"Let's get going now," Bankotsu ordered.

They all followed their leader, Bankotsu, to the place where they're staying at: an abandoned hut; it provided them with shelter, left-over food, and even a few coins here or there. Despite the looks of the run down place, it was quite comfortable.

Breaking the silence, Suikotsu spoke out loud, "Isn't today the day, Bankotsu?"

Jakotsu and Renkotsu looked at Suikotsu with confusion, "What are you talking about, Suikotsu?" Jakotsu asked.

Suikotsu kept his focus on Bankotsu and said, "You weren't into the battle today, you didn't even mock him."

"Come to think of it, you weren't," Renkotsu agreed, as he thought back to the earlier events.

"Hm, I can't fool you can I Suikotsu?" Bankotsu asked with a chuckle. "Yes, you are right, Suikotsu. Today was the day that they got killed by that bastard."

"Really?" Jakotsu asked. "I didn't know that."

"I don't know how you found out, though, Suikotsu. I never told you guys 'cause it would just have been something that you would blamed on yourselves. I was planning to tell you later but, I just couldn't." Bankotsu said, his gaze going off into the distance.

The group got silent. It finally broke."I always assumed that they left us." Renkotsu revealed.

"Well, I guess I should tell you then," Bankotsu said. As the group walked down the path to the hut, he started to retell the horrible events that he had kept to himself for a year.

As Bankotsu finished telling the story, he turned towards his companion. "So, Suikotsu, how did you know that they were killed?" he asked.

"I thought it was weird when you came back alone, so I decided to see if there was anything wrong. I went to the place that you had said that you would be at, and I ended up finding their corpses," Suikotsu confessed

"That would explain it," Bankotsu realized. "I'm sorry that you had to discover it that way, but I guess if you hadn't, I just wouldn't have told you."

"Ah, look, I can see the hut!" Jakotsu exclaimed as the run down hut came into view of the group. He froze "Wait, who is that?"

Sitting on the broken fence that was in front of the hut was a person with long black hair in a forest green kimono. His head was up towards the sky.

"Why is there a human there? Should I kill him?" Jakotsu asked aloud.

"Wait," Renkotsu said.

"What? Why? Don't tell me that you are going to have a go at him." Jakotsu complained.

"It's a woman." Suikotsu announced looking clearly at her; her dangling legs swung in rhythm and she looked at the sky, as if she was expecting something.

"Aw, pity," Jakotsu said with a defeated sigh. "You can have her, Suikotsu."

"Do you want her, Bankotsu? You do enjoy women more than the rest of us." Renkotsu said.

"No, she probably can't even handle that katana." Bankotsu stated with a grin.

"Okay then," Suikotsu said with a smile. "I guess I'll have her!" He began to charge at the oblivious woman who paid no attention

Suikotsu quickly swiped at the woman with his claws. Before the claws could touch her, the woman jumped out of the way.

"My, my," she taunted. "Not letting me react are you? Well, as expected from Suikotsu of the legendary Band of Seven." The woman smirked and looked at him, a playful gesture in her bluish green eyes. "So, let's make a deal. If I win, you will let me fight your leader over there. But if you win, well, you can decide if that happens. So," she paused and lowered her head, her eyes looking directly at Suikotsu. "Do we have a deal?"

"How about it, Bankotsu? It sounds fun enough," Jakotsu said coming out of the forest.

"Why not," Renkotsu said with a shrug. "Even if she defeats Suikotsu, she'll never be able to beat Bankotsu."

Bankotsu smirked with a chuckle. "Sure, it does sound fun."

"Alright! I accept your challenge. But don't you think it'd be fair if we knew your name. That way, we'd know what name to put on your grave," Suikotsu said.

"Oh, of course. Because I'll need a grave." She smiled and continued speaking, "My name is Katsumi and it's nice to meet you."

With that, she unsheathed her sword and made a quick move to cut her opponent's shoulder. Unfortunately for her, Suikotsu dodged out of the way just in time and moved in for a counterattack. Claws clashed with sword and vice verse. Over and over, his claws and her sword kept hitting on another. Finally, somebody had gained an advantage.

"Looks like I win, girl," Suikotsu said as he pointed his claws at Katsumi "Now, what should I make you do first?"

"Never underestimate your opponent. If you're gonna kill someone, make sure you do it right the first time. Because if you're only going maim them with the first attack, they have a nasty way of coming back to make you regret it. Even though I won't kill you, you will regret it," Katsumi replied with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Suikotsu asked. "You're beat up; you can do nothing."

The woman smirked, as she lunged at Suikotsu and pinned him down effectively; she disabled him from using his claws. Then she pointed her sword at Suikotsu's heart."See what I mean?" She asked with a wide smile. "If you make a move, it would result you in a fatal blow."

Katsumi got up and swiped the dust off of her clothing, "So, how was it? Am I qualified to battle your leader?"

Jakotsu and Renkotsu stared in amazement at the girl, unwilling to believe that she had defeated Suikotsu, and turned the tables right at the end.

Suddenly, Bankotsu spoke, "Good job. You may have defeated Suikotsu, but I assure you that it was just a fluke. Why should I battle you?"

"So, you think that it was just a one hit wonder?" she asked in a matter of fact tone.

Nobody said anything.

Well, why don't you battle me yourself to find out? I mean, the best way to know if something is worth it is to test it yourself, am I correct?" Katsumi retorted as her smile grew.

"Your words have perked my interests, I accept," Bankotsu said as he gave in.

Katsumi just kept on smiling and said, "Good choice, as expected from the leader of the Band of Seven."

"How do you know so much about us?" Bankotsu demanded.

"You just have to defeat me to find out," Katsumi said and with that, she charged at Bankotsu.

Author's Note: So? What did you think? Did you like it?


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Okay, here is chapter 2, sorry it took so long. Anyway, it is important that you know, the beginning is Katsumi's side of the story, it takes place **before** Bankotsu and the others arrive and **after** the first two paragraphs of chapter 1. I have warned you.

Shout outs: Thank you to my beta for looking over this and reviewing. And thank you to madin456, KiraraGoesMeow, and Jordan for reviewing; I hope this battle is better.

Soundtracks: Okay, so since I don't usually write battle scenes, here are some OSTs that helped me, you can listen to it if you want, A fight, Counterattack, The leader of the Band of seven, The band of seven spectators, and The power of Tessaiga. And this is after the battle, Doki doki uki uki.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 2

"Ah, here it is," a young woman said as she walked into the hut. "Is there anyone here?" she asked, her voice echoing throughout the walls of the hut.

After a few moments of silence, the woman decided to look around. The hut was one big room divided into sections – one section had four futons, another had food and various items scattered around, and a fireplace in the middle of the hut with some mats around it. There was an empty space near the futons.

"Hmm, so three of them have died," the woman said to herself and walked out of the hut. She propped herself up onto a broken fence, "Well, they are probably out killing someone; I guess I'll just have to wait," she said as she sat down to wait.

Soon, the sun that was high up in the sky came down almost setting, "They sure are taking their sweet time, aren't they?"

She sighed and looked up into the sky when suddenly, a man with weird markings charged at her. Using her reflexes, she dodged it just in time.

_'Ah, so they have finally come have they? That must be Suikotsu, the one who has a split personality. Hm, seems interesting,_' she thought as her eyes trailed down to his hands. _Though, those claws of his are something I shouldn't take lightly_. _Well, might as well make this more interesting._'

"My, my," the woman taunted, "Not letting me react, are you? That's as expected from Suikotsu, of the legendary Band of Seven." She smirked and looked at her attacker.

"So, let's make a deal," she continued. "If I win, you will let me fight your leader over there. But if you win, well, you can decide if that happens. So," she paused and lowered her head, her eyes looking directly at the man. "Do we have a deal?"

"How about it, Bankotsu? It sounds fun enough," a man resembling a woman said coming out of the forest.

_'So this must be Jakotsu_,' the woman thought.

"Why not," another man with purple stripes on his face said. "Even if she defeats Suikotsu, she'll never be able to beat Bankotsu."

_'Renkotsu,'_ she continued.

"Sure, it does sound fun," the last of the four said.

The woman smirked, _'and finally, Bankotsu.'_

"Alright! I accept your challenge. But don't you think it'd be fair if we knew your name. That way, we'd know what name to put on your grave," Suikotsu said.

"Oh, of course. Because I'll need a grave." She smiled and continued speaking, "My name is Katsumi and it's nice to meet you."

With that, she unsheathed her sword and made a quick move to cut her opponent's shoulder. Unfortunately for her, Suikotsu dodged out of the way just in time and moved in for a counterattack. Claws clashed with sword and vice versa. Over and over, his claws and her sword kept hitting one another. Finally, somebody had gained an advantage.

"Looks like I win, girl," Suikotsu said as he pointed his claws at Katsumi. "Now, what should I make you do first?"

_'This guy doesn't know the most important rule in battle, better teach him,'_ Katsumi thought smiling.

"Never underestimate your opponent. If you're going to kill someone, make sure you do it right the first time. Because if you're only going maim them with the first attack, they have a nasty way of coming back to make you regret it. Even though I won't kill you, you will regret it," Katsumi replied with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Suikotsu asked. "You're beat up; you can do nothing."

The woman smirked, as she lunged at Suikotsu and pinned him down effectively; she disabled him from using his claws. Then she pointed her sword at Suikotsu's heart."See what I mean?" She asked with a wide smile. "If you make a move, it would result you in a fatal blow."

Katsumi got up and swiped the dust off of her clothing, "So, how was it? Am I qualified to battle your leader?"

Jakotsu and Renkotsu stared in amazement at the girl, unwilling to believe that she had defeated Suikotsu, and turned the tables right at the end.

Suddenly, Bankotsu spoke, "Good job. You may have defeated Suikotsu, but I assure you that it was just a fluke. Why should I battle you?"

Katsumi frowned. _'Not keeping his word, nothing a bit of a taunt won't fix.'_

"So, you think that it was just a one hit wonder?" she asked in a matter of fact tone.

Nobody said anything.

_'Thought so!'_ Katsumi cheered privately.

"Well, why don't you battle me yourself to find out? I mean, the best way to know if something is worth it is to test it yourself, am I correct?" Katsumi retorted as her smile grew.

"Your words have perked my interests, I accept," Bankotsu said as he gave in.

Katsumi just kept on smiling and said, "Good choice, as expected from the leader of the Band of Seven."

"How do you know so much about us?" Bankotsu demanded.

"You just have to defeat me to find out," Katsumi said and with that, she charged at Bankotsu, katana in front of her.

Bankotsu quickly got out his Banryu to block the oncoming attack causing him to have difficulty lifting it up again, unfortunately for him; Katsumi simply went around him to strike the side of his stomach. Just as the katana was about to hit, Banryu was freed and Bankotsu jumped out of the way just in time.

"That was a nice tactic; though don't start congratulating yourself yet," Bankotsu taunted and he clashed swords with his opponent.

"Oh, is that a compliment I hear? I should be considering myself lucky, shouldn't I?" Katsumi said as she jumped up behind him to try a sneak attack.

Bankotsu quickly noticing what the woman was trying and blocked the attack with his Banryu, "Don't be pushing your luck, you'll regret it!" and with that, he twirled Banryu creating a screen of dust around them and swung Banryu to where he predicted the woman would be coughing.

As the dust cleared, the onlookers, who were eager to see if their leader won the battle, were disappointed. The woman had her katana firmly in the ground, effectively weakening the attack immensely.

"Looks like you were trying to kill me. Do you like my sword? I had it specially made. Though it's not as famous as yours, I say mine is just as good as yours," Katsumi smirked, wiping some dirt off her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Don't get too excited, while your sword may be impressive, you look like you don't have much energy to fight," Bankotsu said as he began to charge at the woman.

Katsumi held the hilt of her weapon to steady herself and said, "You may not look it, but I can tell that you are pretty beat up yourself."

Bankotsu stopped for a moment but enough for Katsumi to have the time needed to get away from the attack. The pair lunged at each other again and again, each getting a few nicks here and there. Just as the people watching thought it would never end, Bankotsu managed to separate the woman far away from her sword.

He trapped her and just as the woman thought she would be dead, he said, "I would like some answers now."

She blinked "Aren't you going to kill me?" she asked. "I mean, you almost did that so many times before. Don't tell me you were holding back! I did not just risk my life for you to not take me seriously!"

"Oh no, I was giving it my all," Bankotsu simply stated.

The woman was now utterly confused, "Huh? Then why aren't you killing me? You wouldn't want me to come back wanting revenge, now would you?"

"No, of course not. I want answers, and you will be the one who gives it to me. And I have a distinct impression that you wouldn't want revenge," Bankotsu said with a smirk leaving the others baffled.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: AHHHH! Gomen, gomen, gomen, GOMEN-NA-SAI! I am SOOOOO sorry that this is late D: And it's such a short chapter too. *bows head repeatedly*

Shout outs: I thank my beta for checking over this and reviewing, madin456 for reviewing, and all the readers, I forgot this last time, I got 74 hits :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the characters

Chapter 3

"So, what do you want to know?" Katsumi asked after she and the others had gone into the hut.

"I want to know how you about us," Bankotsu said.

"Isn't it obvious? A lot of people know you guys; I mean, with all the people you kill," Katsumi answered.

"That's not what I meant – you seem to know more about us than other people," Bankotsu said.

"Okay, fine. I have a friend that goes around Japan to collect information for just about anything. And whenever he gets new information about powerful opponents, he tells me," Katsumi explained with a smile

"And where is your friend now?" Renkotsu pried.

"I believe that he is somewhere in the continent. But with him, you never know. The only way I can contact him is when he leaves a few signs at places I frequently go to," Katsumi replied.

"Oh, okay then," Renkotsu said a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Well, if that is all, I will be taking my leave now," Katsumi said standing up and starting to walk away.

"Wait," Bankotsu ordered, also standing up.

Katsumi didn't bother to turn around; she kept her eyes forward. "Don't worry," she started, "I will be back when I get better. And mark my words, I will defeat you."

"That's not what I wanted to say," Bankotsu said.

Katsumi slowly turned around. "Then what did you—"

Before she could finish what she was saying, Banryu was coming down on her. If she didn't react as fast as she did, she would have been sliced in half.

"Bankotsu!" Jakotsu shouted.

"What are you doing?" Suikotsu demanded.

"What the hell? That's not fair! I never thought that you would sink as low as attacking from the back," Katsumi accused.

"You have good reflexes," Bankotsu calmly stated.

"Who the hell do you think? How could you say that right after you attacked me?" Katsumi yelled at him.

"I was just testing you," Bankotsu defended.

"Testing me? You could have killed me!" Katsumi said with her voice still as loud as before; she jabbed a finger at him.

Bankotsu put down his Banryu and sighed. "I was confident that you could stop it," he said. He grinned. "Besides, I would have stopped in time if you couldn't"

"Why you—" Katsumi started.

"But I want you to join our group," Bankotsu said as he interrupted her once again; he had gotten to the point.

"And another thing—Wait what?" Katsumi asked stopping herself, disbelieving what she had heard.

"I want you to join us. You have some skills and you are pretty good. It would be such a pity to let you go," Bankotsu explained.

"What? But brother—" Renkotsu complained.

Katsumi cut him off, "But what if I don't want to?"

"Are you saying you don't want to?" Bankotsu asked raising his eyebrows.

"W-Well, no," Katsumi stuttered. "I was just checking."

"So that won't be a problem," Bankotsu declared.

"Bankotsu, are you sure that we can trust her?" Renkotsu demanded.

"Yeah," Suikotsu said agreeing with Renkotsu. "For all we know, she could be out to kill us."

"You know I don't like women much," Jakotsu voiced his opinion.

"Of course, we will be watching for anything suspicious," Bankotsu reassured his group as he glanced towards Katsumi.

"I guess that's okay with me," Suikotsu said. "I mean it would be a good thing if she were with us rather than an enemy..." he finished and trailed off.

"Well, I guess so," Jakotsu said. "But if she steals any of my men, I can't promise that I would go easy on her," he threatened as he glared at her.

"I still don't think it's a good idea. But if you guys say it's all right, then I guess I have no choice," Renkotsu said as he gave the girl in question a look of distrust.

"Okay then, it's settled, she will join us," Bankotsu declared.

Author's Note: I will try to post earlier next time *bows head again*


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: SORRY, SORRY, I'M SO SORRY! Yes, I know that I said in the last chapter that I would update faster, but you see, stuff…came up…..yeah *shifty eyes*. Anyways, I noticed that when someone says something, they usually do the opposite, so I'll just say to not expect me to update anytime soon :D OH and I remembered that since I'm Canadian, I spell stuff like 'colour' with an 'u' so sorry if it annoys any of you.

Aknowledgements: Thank you to my beta, KaidaThorn who checked this over in like less than a day (I was just lazy to put it up…..) and reviewing last chapter. BIG thanks to maiden456 for the….encouragement and also for the idea details, without her, this chapter still wouldn't be up and for reviewing last chapter. Lastly, thank you for the readers (165 views :D).

Chapter 4

Weeks passed by as Katsumi and the others got to know each other. Jakotsu and Suikotsu eventually accepted her into their group, even considering her as a friend, while Renkotsu was still not sure of letting her in the group. Bankotsu, Jakotsu and Suikotsu tried to convince Renkotsu that letting her in the group was a good thing.

"Are you sure you're okay. Bankotsu?" Jakotsu asked a bit worried.

"I'm fine: the guy was just tougher than I thought. Nothing big," Bankotsu said lying down.

"But you have so many injuries!" Jakotsu exclaimed.

"There's nothing to worry about a few scratches—" Bankotsu tried.

"A few scratches? That's more than a few—"

"It's fine," Bankotsu interrupted. "Besides, Suikotsu is out collecting herbs if that makes you feel any better," he reassured. Jakotsu just nodded.

"Hm, do you know where Katsumi and Renkotsu are?" Bankotsu asked after a few moments of silence.

"Oh, I sent them out for some time to bond," Jakotsu said.

"Ah okay, that's good," Bankotsu murmured.

_-With Suikotsu-_

"I think this should be more than enough for Bankotsu's wounds," Suikotsu said; he hadn't noticed the dark shadow that was looming over him. He stood up and turned around. Suddenly, the shadow attacked him and killed him with one strike through the heart. The culprit was about to take the dagger out when a voice suddenly called out.

"Renkotsu, where did you go? I turn my back for one second and you disappear. Do you-" Katsumi stopped and dropped all of her stuff. "What happened to you, Suikotsu!" She ran up to him and tried to wake him. "Wake up damn it!" She checked his pulse and her face instantly paled. "Damn it all!" she swore to herself. Katsumi picked him up and started running back to the hut.

"Hey, there you are, Katsumi! Renkotsu said he couldn't find—"

"Jakotsu, Jakotsu! Suikotsu is... Suikotsu is..." Katsumi tried to explain in between gasps for air, but with the confused look on Jakotsu's face, she just showed the man Suikotsu's body.

"Kami-sama, what happened to Suikotsu?" Jakotsu questioned.

"I- I don't know! I was looking for Renkotsu, when I found Suikotsu like this," Katsumi panted.

Jakotsu took Suikotsu out of Katsumi's hands and carried him inside with Katsumi trailing behind them with a worried look.

"Hey, Jakotsu, did Suikotsu come back? I wanted to-" Bankotsu said as he walked into the room. His eyes quickly widened. "What happened!" he yelled as he cut himself off. "What happened to Suikotsu?"

"Hey, I wasn't able to find Katsumi— what happened to Suikotsu?" Renkotsu asked entering the room.

"I don't know. Katsumi found him when she was looking for Renkotsu," Jakotsu calmly explained what he knew so the others could know what was happening.

"But Renkotsu said that she disappeared on him. He's been looking for her, but he had to give up," Bankotsu said, trying to make sense of all this. Renkotsu nodded in agreement.

Jakotsu shrugged. "Okay, so let's try to solve this: we know that Suikotsu has sharp reflexes, so that means that not just anybody would be able to kill him so easily."

Jakotsu stood up and examined Suikotsu's body. "Judging by the condition of his body, he didn't struggle too much."

"So you're saying that someone we know killed him?" Bankotsu asked.

Jakotsu shrugged again. "I don't know."

"Then does that mean that..." Bankotsu turned to look at Katsumi.

Katsumi looked surprised, "You don't suspect I killed him did you?"

"Well, who else would have done it? I knew we shouldn't have let her in," Renkotsu said as he glared at her.

Katsumi's eyes widened. "Hey, wait a minute. Why do you think I did it? I had nothing against Suikotsu!" Katsumi tried to defend.

"And who do you think would be able to kill him?" Renkotsu yelled.

"Enough!" Bankotsu suddenly said, he stood up and said, "I challenge you, in honour of Suikotsu!"

End Note: Again, you will not expect me to update anytime soon….


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: GOMEN! My beta and I are sorry, some confusion happened and my beta didn't get the chapter and I didn't know so it's FF's fault…..anyways, here's the chapter:

Chapter 5

"Fight me!" Bankotsu said, struggling to get up.

Katsumi's eyes widened. In her state of shock, she managed to get out a few protests.

"Silence!" Bankotsu shouted.

"How do you expect me to fight you? You can barely stand up, much less fight me."

"Don't underestimate me: I will avenge Suikotsu!"

"But!" Katsumi started then sighed. There was no use arguing. "I guess I have to. But when you lose, don't say I didn't try to stop you."

"You won't be saying that when you lose," Bankotsu said and with that, he charged at Katsumi, Banryu in his hand.

Katsumi faked left then hit Bankotsu's abdomen. Bankotsu countered with a jab to the stomach, but missed as Katsumi was anticipating it.

_'Suikotsu, I promise; I promise I will avenge your death!'_ Bankotsu thought as he charged at Katsumi and brought Banryu down on her shoulder. Katsumi's knees gave out, but not enough for Bankotsu to make a fatal attack.

Bankotsu quickly moved to the right, just barely missing an attack that would have spilled a lot of blood.

_'Good thing I watched her training before— GAH, stop thinking like that!'_

Katsumi managed to cut off the main part of Bankotsu's armour, rendering his heart wide open for a fatal attack.

"What's the matter?" Katsumi taunted. "Your mind seems to be somewhere else; shouldn't you pay more attention to your opponent instead of daydreaming?"

"Who would want to pay attention to you? I don't even want to look at you!" Bankotsu spat, as he attacked her from the side. _'She's showing her true colours now,'_ Bankotsu thought, missing the hurt expression that flashed through Katsumi's eyes. _'She's a traitor, and that's what she is.'_

_'Oh, so why do you have to keep reminding yourself that?'_ an evil voice sniggered from inside Bankotsu's head.

_'That's because she seemed too trustworthy. I let my guard down, and she manipulated me.'_ Bankotsu managed to defend himself. After a bit of struggle, Katsumi managed to cut Bankotsu's shoulder pad off while he drew some blood from her arm.

_'Oh, so why does your heart clench every time you attack her?'_ the voice sneered.

_'That's because, because even if I hate her, she still is a women and I don't like attacking women,'_ Bankotsu said internally, trying to find an eligible excuse.

_'Oh, so why don't you just use Banryu's strongest attack to finish her? It'd be a quick and easy death for her; she wouldn't feel a thing. Then, you won't be feeling guilty,'_ the voice suggested.

"I will," Bankotsu answered aloud as he lifted Banryu up to prepare for the attack.

Katsumi, knowing what Bankotsu was planning, prepared for her own secret attack. Just as Banryu was about to kill Katsumi, Katsumi used her katana to make Banryu go off track to her right. At the same moment, Bankotsu lost his balance and fell to the floor; Katsumi took this chance to trap Bankotsu with her katana pointing at his heart.

Everyone in the room, who watched in a silent awe, thought that Katsumi was going to kill their leader. Instead, she started to pull away, and Renkotsu jumped at this moment to knock Bankotsu over to protect him.

Katsumi sheathed her katana and began to walk away, a trail of blood streaming down her arm at her wake.

"Wait!" Bankotsu shouted, struggling to get up. He couldn't find the strength to move, though.

Katsumi stopped for a second, and then resumed walking without hesitation. "If you wish to speak to me, you should first get your sense of judgement in order. Then learn your facts, because I did not kill Suikotsu: I don't know what made you think that. What kind of a leader are you?" And with that, she left.

A week has passed since Katsumi left, and Jakotsu wasn't sure if Katsumi was really the one who had killed Suikotsu.

"It's such a hot day today," Jakotsu said, stopping his work to look up at the sun. "Bankotsu really is an idiot."

After a few minutes of hard work, Jakotsu was finally done, he was packing up when suddenly, he sensed someone coming behind him fast. He quickly jumped away. "Re-Renkotsu! What did you do that for?"

Renkotsu didn't answer, he just continued to attack Jakotsu, while Jakotsu kept the same pace and kept avoiding the attacks. "H-hey, look, I'm sorry I wasn't there for training, okay? I had work to do! I know you want to avenge Suikotsu as much as Bankotsu, but we need food to survive too! And where did you get that katana from?"

Again, no answer came from Renkotsu as he kept on swinging at Jakotsu, missing each time. Jakotsu kept on trying to reason with the other man, but nothing worked. Finally, Renkotsu seemed tired of missing Jakotsu and was about deal the final blow when Katsumi suddenly came out from the bushes and pushed Jakotsu out of the way just in time.

"Ka-Katsumi! Where did you come from?" Jakotsu asked.

"No time to explain! Come on, let's go."

"Wait, what is this all about?" Jakotsu said after a few minutes of running. He was utterly confused

"Just hurry, I'll explain everything when we get there," Katsumi said, looking back every few seconds.

"O-okay." Jakotsu said, falling into silence.

After a few more minutes of running, they came to an ordinary-looking tree.

"So, are we just going to stay here?" Jakotsu asked bemused.

"Follow me." Was all Katsumi said as she rounded the tree, and started digging only to reveal a stair way.

Jakotsu whistled lowly, "Wow, I wonder who made this."

"Go in," Katsumi ordered as she looked around. Jakotsu complied and went in with Katsumi following, covering the top of the stair with the dirt she dug up.

They walked for what seemed like forever when they finally came upon a small, sort-of village. As they walked in, everyone there stopped what they were doing and bowed down to them, and one man came up to them and said, "Lady Katsumi, welcome back. We hope you had a great trip."

"You may all rise and resume what you were doing." Everyone complied except for the man who stayed and questioned who Jakotsu was.

"He is part of the Band of Seven," Katsumi said simply.

The man gasped as he turned to Jakotsu and back to Katsumi, "Is he..."

"No, he is not, neither of them," Katsumi said. Now Jakotsu was confused, but he decided to do nothing and just watch the scene unfold.

"Very well, I will not bother you any further." And with that, the man walked away.

"Come," Katsumi commanded to Jakotsu.

_'Wow, she's nothing like before, I wonder what changed, she sort of reminds me of Bankotsu,_' Jakotsu thought.

They walked to a hut that seemed bigger than all the other ones.

"We're here; please enter," Katsumi said as she allowed Jakotsu to go in.

"Okay, I waited! Now do you mind explaining what everything is about?" Jakotsu asked.

"Okay, I won't beat around the bushes. I'll get straight to the point," Katsumi said, taking a deep breath. "Renkotsu is not who you think he is."

Author's Note: Did you like it? There's a cliff hanger, some things will be cleared up in the next chapter. Again, my beta and I are really sorry.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Well…..I failed XD So I did end up doing what I said I would last chapter XD That didn't work at all. You may now yell at me (except madin456, she can't :D) So here's chapter six. Oh and I'm sorry for the extreme lateness m( _ _ )m

Oh and sorry to my beta, who probably waited….a long time…. You didn't reply and my friend wanted me to post the chapter, so gomen-na sai! .

Acknowledgements: Thank you to madin456 for helping me with the end of the chapter and to the people who reviewed :D

Chapter 6

"Renkotsu is not who you think he is."

"W-what do you mean?" Jakotsu asked, not really sure if he really wanted to know the answer.

"You remember that 'friend' I told you about?"

"Yes" Jakotsu said cautiously

"Yes, well you see, I'm part of an organization. I won't go into detail about it, but basically, that 'friend' was part of our organization. Some things happened, and now we're not on very good terms. Some might call us enemies."

"So what does that have to do with anything?"

"That day where you lost 3 of your comrades, you actually lost 4."

"What! That doesn't make sense, who is the 4th one that died?" Jakotsu asked, he knew what the answer is most likely going to be, but he didn't want to believe it.

Katsumi looked down, her bangs hiding her eyes. Barely whispering, as if she didn't want him to hear, she said, "I'm sorry, Jakotsu."

Jakotsu looked to the side, "It's Renkotsu isn't it? God, I'm so stupid. What kind of friend am I if I can't even tell a fake from the real thing?" He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

"It's not your fault, he's a professional; he can disguise himself as anyone without flaw." Katsumi said, desperately trying to not raise her voice and shake some sense into the fool.

"It's been months! How could I have not noticed! No one is that perfect at what they do; he has had to have slipped up at some point."

"No one can you say, but what about a shape shifter? Demons are much more careful than us; they see and plan everything with precision. And the fact that he is a shape shifter makes it all the more easy. It was what he was born to do. If you have to blame anyone, you have to blame me." Katsumi said, not really wanting to explain to Jakotsu the truth. But she owed him that much, at least.

"But Katsumi, you never did anything! We didn't even know you back then!" Jakotsu said, turning to her. He swore he could see a flash of hurt in her eyes and her jaw clenched a bit, but when he blinked, it was gone.

"I was the one who helped him train, helped him how to fight and defend himself. I knew he was a shape shifter, and I knew that shape shifters were never honest. But he had me fooled and I believed him. As soon as I found out that we- I was tricked, he betrayed us." Katsumi could feel the tears gathering, but held them back. "I was foolish to believe in him, to trust him, to love him. I was hurt badly, but I was the one who let my emotions get in the way. I know I deserve it, but, it hurts."

"Katsumi, I—" Jakotsu tried, not knowing what to say.

Katsumi looked up with a pained smile, "But it's okay, the only thing I am focused on is to prevent him to cause anyone else harm. And right now, that person is Bankotsu."

Jakotsu gasped, "Bankotsu." He was afraid that Ren— no, that person, had already gotten to Bankotsu.

"We need to hurry up," Katsumi said, standing up, "Your battle armor and weapons are in the next room. Hurry and prepare, we don't have much time." Katsumi swiftly got out of the room, and Jakotsu followed her as she showed him where his stuff is located. Katsumi left, leaving behind a dazed Jakotsu at the doorway. He snapped out of it and quickly went inside to get ready.

He looked around and spotted his clothing, he inspected it and was glad to find out it was more on the feminine side and he would be able to freely move around as he pleased. As he got dressed, he spotted his weapon. Amazed**,**he walked up to it and picked it up, inspecting the weight. Perfect. It was an exact replica of his old sword, his old one was getting rusty but this one, it was in perfect condition but seemed well used and cared for. As he strapped it onto his waist, he exited the room.

There, standing in front of him, was Katsumi, ready for battle, amour on with her usual katana on her side. But now, there was an addition to it, there were twin blades on her back. If Jakotsu didn't have this strange attraction to other males, he would have instantly fallen for her.

"What are you waiting for? We need to go."

As Katsumi ran with Jakotsu a step behind her, she thought of the conversation she had with Atsushi, the man that approached her when she arrived with Jakotsu.

"_Lady Katsumi, are you sure you want to go alone?"_

"_Yes, it's my duty, I have to." Katsumi looked back at the hut she was just in, "After all, I'm the one who caused all this."_

"_My lady, you know that none of us blame you."_

"_I know, but I have to do it. If not for us, then for other people who might become his victim."_

"_I understand, but at least let me come with you." The man pleaded._

"_No, Atsushi. Jakotsu is enough, besides, they need you here," Katsumi said, gesturing at the people of the village of sort, "And you know what to do if I don't come back."_

"_Yes my lady, but I will pray it will not come to that."_

"_Of course. Take care Atsushi." With that, she walked into the hut, going to fetch Jakotsu._

"_You too, my lady." Katsumi paused for a moment. Smiling, she continued on._

_With Bankotsu_

Damn, where did everyone go? Jakotsu went out to get some food for us to eat and Renkotsu just disappeared. Well at least I don't have anyone to fret over me; I can actually do some training now.

I took Banryuu out with me, tested the weight- not that I don't already know how much it weighs- and started doing my usual warm-up.

After the repetitive motion of swing the blade a few times, I decided to step it up a bit with adding jumps, kicks, sprints and punches.

*run, slash, jump kick and twirling Banryuu around my hand.* I did that for a while along with other combinations of moves. I would have continued if not for the sudden clapping coming from my left.

I quickly turned around, guard up. It was Renkotsu. On the outside, I relaxed, but I was cautious; I didn't fully trust anyone except for Jakotsu. Plus, lately, Renkotsu had been acting weirdly.

"Great performance, Bankotsu, but is it enough to beat me?" With that, Renkotsu charged at me.

I held Banryuu in front of me. Predicting that he'll fake a left and go for the right, I readied myself.

Instead, Renkotsu went head-on, which proved my suspicions about him. Caught off guard, I used Banryuu to lessen that force of the attack.

"What's wrong Bankotsu? Have you lost your touch?" Damn that guy, of course I haven't.

"Of course not, I'm just getting started." I said, giving him no time to register anything, I rushed to his side to give him a taste of my power.

_Katsumi's POV_

I ran through the forest, easily dodging the leaves and branches. I looked back to see Jakotsu falling behind and called out, "Hurry up; we need to get to Bankotsu fast. If my sources are correct, 'Renkotsu' is already there battling him."

This got Jakotsu running faster. Jakotsu must really care about Bankotsu; I wonder what their past is like.

By now, Jakotsu was right behind me. I took out my katana and sliced the branches that blocked our way to make it easier for Jakotsu to follow me.

We were covering more ground faster now; we should reach the hut in a bit.

In the distance, I heard some sparring going on. Damn it! With those wounds, Bankotsu wouldn't last long. I hope the battle had just started, for his sake, and that his wounds haven't re-opened.

_Bankotsu's POV_

Damn it, this battle has been going on for a long time. If this lasts any longer, I'll be a dead man.

"What's wrong, leader?" damn his taunting and mocking voice, "'Keep your head in the battle and don't let your guard down', isn't that what you told me? I think it's time for you to take your own advice." He said, coming towards me.

I blocked him and quickly aimed for his side. I hit him, but it wasn't enough to affect him. It was the first attack I had landed on him; this is not turning out well.

"Using my own words against me, I should've known you were an imposter." By now, Ren—he had recovered from the blow.

"Well, I guess I'm just that good, or maybe you aren't as good as you think you are." I know he's taunting me, but I just can't help but take the bait.

"Let me hear that when you beat me." I said, charging towards him. So far, I've only been attacking him head on; I'll fake it and go for his side. I'm sure this will hit him.

Unfortunately, nothing is going as I planned today. It seems that he was planning on doing the exact same thing, and he was faster than me. He was going to hit me, where I was wide open, with his fire-lit chains before I heard a clashing sound and I fell to the floor.

_Third person POV_

"Jakotsu?" Bankotsu made out the shape in front of him. "And… Katsumi?"

"Yes, we've come to rescue you, oh-so-great leader," Katsumi said sarcastically. However, her expression was serious as she made her way to stand between Bankotsu and the shape shifter. Jakotsu made his way over to help Bankotsu and he got him to a safe place before coming back to join Katsumi.

"Ah, Katsumi, we meet again." 'Renkotsu' started the conversation. "Thank you for helping me train back then."

She gritted her teeth and said his name like a curse, "Ryo. I remember when you were a wimp and people used to make fun of your name, 'refreshing.' I guess it's not like that anymore, is it?"

"Those days are over!" He glared. "No one will dare call me 'refreshing' anymore! When people hear that I've killed the leader of the Band of Seven, they'll all be at my mercy!" At this, he charged and exhaled a huge breath of fire.

Katsumi jumped away to dodge the attack while Jakotsu came back and extended his sword. Renkotsu turned around to block it and Katsumi took this opportunity to land a hit on his back. Blood gushed out and he bent over to try to stop the bleeding. He saw Katsumi and Jakotsu come in for another attack, so he surrounded himself with a circle of fire.

A few minutes of eager waiting went by before Renkotsu stepped out. This time, he came out as Jakotsu. Jakotsu attacked Jakotsu and the two were sparing for a while before one of the Jakotsus asked Katsumi to help.

Katsumi panicked and put her sword back. "Uhh… which one of you is the real Jakotsu?"

"Me!" The two said at the same time.

Bankotsu, who managed to crawl back from the spot Jakotsu put him in, realized that this was the first time Katsumi had 'lost her cool'. Before, she had always seemed prepared, smug, even, but never panicked. She would _never_ sheath her sword during a battle.

He got up, stumbled a bit, before charging at Katsumi, who he now figured was the real fake. 'Katsumi' noticed his actions, so she jumped back, causing Bankotsu to fall face-first into the dirt. Grunting, he got back on his feet.

"It seems you've figured it out, Bankotsu," 'Katsumi' said, just a little bit surprised. She kept talking, acting as if she was defeated now that her last resort was figured out. Because of this, Bankotsu was focused on her the whole time. Not noticing that one of the Jakotsus was staring wide-eyed at the other Jakotsu, he was too late in stopping a slash that came down the first Jakotsu's shoulder.

'Katsumi' smirked. Could anything go more accordingly to plan? "Alright, thanks, Sai." She said to the fake Jakotsu, who was changing back to his original form. He wore all black; he had long black pants with a black jacket and black hair. "You can leave now. I'll send the coins to you soon."

Sai nodded and ran away.

To the left, Bankotsu was defeated.

One point for Ryo.

On the right, Jakotsu was defeated.

Two points for Ryo.

Somewhere unknown, Katsumi was defeated.

Three points for Ryo.

'Katsumi' towered over Bankotsu and unsheathed her sword to deliver the final blow. "You weren't a good leader, Bankotsu. You had already lost five of the Band of Seven; now, I'm going to kill the remaining two."

With that, he sliced down. 

Author's Note: So, did you like it? Leave a review telling me what you think :D Oh and expect the next chapter in months XD I have school, okay :D


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